Adaptive dual band mobile point-of-sale terminal

ABSTRACT

A POS terminal includes a state processor, an order processor, communications elements, and a connection monitor. The state processor queues state changes in one or more order queues that correspond to one or more orders in a restaurant. The order processor generates the state changes, and accesses and transmits the state changes to a backend server. The communications elements enable the mobile POS terminal to communicate over both a Wi-Fi network and a White-Fi network within the restaurant, and when operating in a Wi-Fi mode, the mobile POS terminal communicates only over the Wi-Fi network as a selected wireless network, and when operating in a White-Fi mode, the mobile POS terminal communicates only over the White-Fi network as the selected wireless network. The connection monitor determines that connectivity over the Wi-Fi network is degraded, and directs the communications elements to operate in the White-Fi mode.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to the following co-pending U.S. PatentApplications, each of which has a common assignee and common inventors.

Ser. No. FILING DATE TITLE 16/197,615 Nov. 21, 2018 DUAL BAND RESTAURANTORDERING SYSTEM 16/197,636 Nov. 21, 2018 DUAL BAND FIXED POINT-OF-SALETERMINAL 16/197,657 Nov. 21, 2018 DUAL BAND MOBILE POINT-OF-SALETERMINAL 16/197,700 Nov. 21, 2018 COMBINED BAND RESTAURANT ORDERINGSYSTEM 16/197,718 Nov. 21, 2018 RESTAURANT ORDERING SYSTEM EMPLOYINGDUAL BAND MESH NETWORK 16/197,735 Nov. 21, 2018 RESTAURANT ORDERINGSYSTEM EMPLOYING TELEVISION WHITESPACE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS 16/197,755Nov. 21, 2018 MODULAR DUAL BAND MOBILE POINT- OF-SALE TERMINAL

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to the field of point-of-sale (POS)systems, and more particularly to a dual band restaurant orderingsystem.

Description of the Related Art

It is rare these days to walk into a retail store or restaurant that hasa manually operated cash register along with manual (i.e., pencil andpaper) order entry. Rather, it is more common to find one or moreelectronic point-of-sale (POS) terminals through which a patron mayorder goods and/or services. And the POS terminals do not merely recordorders, but rather account for available inventory, modify itemsavailable for order based upon recent orders, and optionally provide forpayment for the orders. In many scenarios, most notably restaurants,though wait staff may employ manual techniques to enter and modifyorders, such orders are entered by the wait staff themselves intoelectronic POS terminals at selected positions within the restaurants.

Many establishments use a type of POS terminal may be configured as amobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, that is additionallyequipped with a card or chip reader (typically plugged into an audiojack). The mobile device may run an application program that providesfor order entry and fulfillment, and which further may synchronize witha server in the cloud for purposes of order payment processing andinventory management. Food trucks, mobile kiosks, and pop-ups generallyuse these mobile devices for order entry, fulfillment, and payment. In apresent-day establishment, conventional Wi-Fi networks are ubiquitous,for they provide for access to the cloud (and server) not only for themobile POS terminals, but also for the myriad numbers of smartphones andtablets that patrons bring into the establishment.

As one skilled in the art will appreciate, Wi-Fi coverage in anyestablishment can be spotty due to dead spots, degraded due to decreasedsignal strengths from access points, or absent altogether. All of theseproblems arise from the number, placement, and type of Wi-Fi accesspoints that are disposed therein. And the number, placement, and typesof Wi-Fi access points that a proprietor chooses to deploy aredetermined by the cost and complexity of the deployment. For example,the proprietor may determine to forego deployment of a Wi-Fi accesspoint on, say, a porch area of the establishment because it is not asheavily trafficked as other areas of the establishment. The proprietormay choose to hide a Wi-Fi access point behind a door or in a ceilingbecause of aesthetic reasons, while at the same time degrading theeffectiveness of the overall Wi-Fi network as a result of the placement.Consequently, employment of these mobile POS terminals, whether used bypatrons or staff, becomes complicated, burdensome, or altogetherimpossible.

The present inventors have observed the above noted problems anddisadvantages associated with present-day Wi-Fi networks, and they havefurther noted stop gap fallback solutions, such as the use of cellularor Bluetooth ad hoc networks when reliable Wi-Fi coverage isunavailable. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, both cellularand Bluetooth coverage are subject to the same problems as Wi-Finetworks. Accordingly, the present inventors have sensed a need in theart for an effective and reliable fallback communication technique formobile terminals within a retail establishment, for employment whenWi-Fi access is unavailable. The present inventors have also recognizeda need in the art for communication techniques within an establishmenthaving a number of mobile POS terminals that do not suffer from theproblems noted above.

Therefore, what is needed is a multi-band ordering and fulfillmentsystem for communication with mobile POS terminals.

What is also needed is a dual band fixed POS terminal that provides forfallback communication with one or more mobile terminals within anestablishment.

What is additionally needed is a dual band mobile POS terminal that iscapable of communicating to a server via Wi-Fi or via a fallbacktelevision whitespace (TVWS) communication band.

What is furthermore needed is an adaptive dual band mobile restaurantPOS terminal that communicates via Wi-Fi or TVWS channels as a functionof coverage and network availability.

What is moreover needed is a combined band ordering system thatincreases coverage and throughput of orders within an establishment bysimultaneously employing both Wi-Fi and TVWS channels fortransmission/reception of data to/from mobile terminals.

What is yet additionally needed is an ordering system that employs adual band mesh network.

What is further needed is a restaurant ordering system that employs bothWi-Fi and TVWS communication channels.

What is likewise needed is a modular dual band mobile POS terminal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, among other applications, is directed to solvingthe above-noted problems and addresses other problems, disadvantages,and limitations of the prior art. In one aspect a dual band mobilepoint-of-sale (POS) terminal is provided that includes a stateprocessor, an order processor, communications elements, and a connectionmonitor. The state processor is configured to queue state changes in oneor more order queues that correspond to one or more orders in arestaurant. The order processor is coupled to the state processor and isconfigured to generate the state changes, and is configured to accessand transmit the state changes in each one of the one or more orderqueues to a backend server, from oldest to youngest, when operablyconnected to a network, where the order processor comprises currentorder state fields corresponding to all of the orders. Thecommunications elements enable the mobile POS terminal to communicateover both a Wi-Fi network and a White-Fi network within the restaurant,and when operating in a Wi-Fi mode, the mobile POS terminal communicatesonly over the Wi-Fi network as a selected wireless network, and whenoperating in a White-Fi mode, the mobile POS terminal communicates onlyover the White-Fi network as the selected wireless network. Theconnection monitor is coupled to the communications elements and isconfigured to determine that connectivity over the Wi-Fi network isdegraded, and is configured to direct said communications elements tooperate in the White-Fi mode.

In another aspect, the present invention contemplates a dual band mobilepoint-of-sale (POS) terminal is provided that includes a stateprocessor, a touchpad display/camera circuit, an order processor,communications elements, and a connection monitor. The state processoris configured to queue state changes in one or more order queues thatcorrespond to one or more orders in a restaurant. The touchpaddisplay/camera circuit is configured to input menu selections and/orpayment options. The order processor is coupled to the state processorand is configured to generate the state changes, and is configured toaccess and transmit the state changes in each one of the one or moreorder queues to a backend server, from oldest to youngest, when operablyconnected to a network, where the order processor comprises currentorder state fields corresponding to all of the orders. Thecommunications elements enable the mobile POS terminal to communicateover both a Wi-Fi network and a White-Fi network within the restaurant,and when operating in a Wi-Fi mode, the mobile POS terminal communicatesonly over the Wi-Fi network as a selected wireless network, and whenoperating in a White-Fi mode, the mobile POS terminal communicates onlyover the White-Fi network as the selected wireless network. Theconnection monitor is coupled to the communications elements and isconfigured to determine that connectivity over the Wi-Fi network isdegraded, and is configured to direct said communications elements tooperate in the White-Fi mode.

A further aspect of the present invention comprehends an orderfulfillment method using a dual band mobile point-of-sale (POS)terminal, the method comprising: queuing state changes in one or moreorder queues that correspond to one or more orders in a restaurant;generating the state changes, and accessing and transmitting the statechanges in each one of the one or more order queues to a backend server,from oldest to youngest, when operably connected to a network andmaintaining current order state fields corresponding to all of theorders; employing communications elements that enable the mobile POSterminal to communicate over both a Wi-Fi network and a White-Fi networkwithin the restaurant, and when programmed in a Wi-Fi mode, the mobilePOS terminal communicates only over the Wi-Fi network as a selectedwireless network, and when programmed in a White-Fi mode, the mobile POSterminal communicates only over the White-Fi network as the selectedwireless network; and determining that connectivity over the Wi-Finetwork is degraded, and directing the communications elements tooperate in the White-Fi mode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a present-day system forfulfilling product orders to one or more patrons.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a dual band restaurant orderingsystem according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram featuring a backend server according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing dual band fixed terminal according tothe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a dual band mobile terminalaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram detailing an exemplary band assignment map forfixed and mobile terminals, such as may be employed in the backendserver of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating details of a TVWS routing tableaccording to the present invention, such as may be employed in the fixedterminals of FIGURE;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting a television whitespace (TVWS)communication module, such as may be employed in the dual band mobileterminal of FIGS. 5 and 10;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram detailing exemplary update/status messagesaccording to the present invention that flow between a backend serverand dual band fixed and mobile terminals; and

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a combined band mobile terminalaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary and illustrative embodiments of the invention are describedbelow. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actualimplementation are described in this specification, for those skilled inthe art will appreciate that in the development of any such actualembodiment, numerous implementation specific decisions are made toachieve specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which vary from one implementation toanother. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having thebenefit of this disclosure. Various modifications to the preferredembodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generalprinciples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments.Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments shown and described herein, but is to be accordedthe widest scope consistent with the principles and novel featuresherein disclosed.

The present invention will now be described with reference to theattached figures. Various structures, systems, and devices areschematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation onlyand so as to not obscure the present invention with details that arewell known to those skilled in the art. Nevertheless, the attacheddrawings are included to describe and explain illustrative examples ofthe present invention. The words and phrases used herein should beunderstood and interpreted to have a meaning consistent with theunderstanding of those words and phrases by those skilled in therelevant art. No special definition of a term or phrase (i.e., adefinition that is different from the ordinary and customary meaning asunderstood by those skilled in the art) is intended to be implied byconsistent usage of the term or phrase herein. To the extent that a termor phrase is intended to have a special meaning (i.e., a meaning otherthan that understood by skilled artisans) such a special definition willbe expressly set forth in the specification in a definitional mannerthat directly and unequivocally provides the special definition for theterm or phrase.

In view of the above background discussion on present-day orderingsystems and associated techniques employed therein for dealing withintermittent, poor quality, or absent Wi-Fi connections, a discussion ofthe disadvantages and limitations of those systems will now be presentedwith reference to FIG. 1. Following this, a discussion of the presentinvention is presented with reference to FIGS. 2-10. The presentinvention provides superior mechanisms and techniques that enable robustPOS terminal interconnectivity within a retail establishment byemploying an additional or replacement wireless network that operatesusing television whitespace (TVWS) channel frequencies.

Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram is presented illustrating apresent-day system for fulfilling product orders to one or more patrons,such as may be present in any of a number of different retailestablishments. The system 100 may include one or more wireless accesspoints 101 that operate over conventional wireless links 103. Theconventional wireless links 103 comprise Wi-Fi links that comport withcommonly employed IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standards that include both 2.4 GHzand 5 GHz frequencies, namely IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n. The system may includea number of ordering positions 104 that are serviced for purposes ofordering and order fulfillment by one or more mobile terminals 121 thatcommunicate over the conventional wireless links 103. Patrons or staffwithin the retail establishment may also have smartphones 106 (ortablets) that connect to the internet via the wireless access points101.

The wireless access points 101 each provide for access within a givenarea of coverage 131. As shown, the mobile terminals 121 within theupper area of coverage 131 may be employed to place and fulfill ordersOD1 and OD2 providing that the upper access point 101 is notoversubscribed by terminals 121 and smartphones/tablets 106. Similarly,mobile terminals 121 within the lower area of coverage 131 may beemployed to place and fulfill orders OD1, OD2, ODA, and ODB providingthat the lower access point 101 is not oversubscribed by terminals 121and smartphones/tablets 106. As one skilled in the art will appreciate,a mobile terminal 121 (typically a modified tablet computer) connects tothe access point 101 having the highest signal strength. However, it isnoted that orders OD3 and OD4 cannot be serviced by a mobile terminal121 that is connected to the wireless network 103 because the mobileterminal 121 is outside of the coverage areas 131 and is thus unable toconnect to any of the wireless access points 101. As one skilled in theart will also appreciate, the coverage areas 131 are determined not onlyby physical distance, but also by obstructions, as the conventionalWi-Fi links, because of frequency band, degrade when transmittingthrough doors, walls, windows, ceilings, and the like. Accordingly,orders OD3 and ODC must be taken and fulfilled via mechanisms other thana mobile terminal 121, namely pencil and paper.

The present inventors have observed that the scenario depicted withreference to FIG. 1 applies to virtually all present-day retailestablishments, whether they are a big box store or a restaurant, forseveral factors affect both the number and placement of wireless accesspoints 101. These factors may include the costs, time, or complexitiesassociated with deploying an establishment-wide Wi-Fi network 103, thenumber of non-establishment devices 106 connected to an existing Wi-Finetwork 103, or simply sheer aesthetics. For example, a proprietor mayopt to provide Wi-Fi coverage for heavily trafficked areas, resulting inremaining areas of the establishment that have poor or no Wi-Ficoverage. Likewise, the proprietor may opt to hide Wi-Fi access points101 in the ceiling or behind walls, simply because they detract from theaesthetics of the establishment, and thus Wi-Fi coverage is degradedbecause of attenuation. Similarly, because of time, cost, orcomplexities, the proprietor may install Wi-Fi access points 101 thatare incapable of handling the establishments mobile terminals 121 inconjunction with a significant number of patron devices 106.

The system 101 of FIG. 1 exemplifies a present-day retail establishmentthat employs a wireless network 103 to provide for ordering andfulfillment, and the present inventors have noted that degraded, poorquality, or absent wireless coverage are substantial problems that limitan establishment's ability to effectively process orders. Disadvantagesof present-day systems 100 include delay in order processing, errors inorder processing, and overall annoyance of patrons. Accordingly, thepresent inventors have sensed a need in the art for better wirelessconnectivity within establishments that provides greater and more robustcoverage.

The present invention overcomes the above noted limitations anddisadvantages, by providing a dual band restaurant order system thatemploys both conventional Wi-Fi frequencies and TVWS frequencies. Thepresent invention will now be discussed with reference to FIGS. 2-10.

Turning to FIG. 2, a block diagram is presented depicting a dual bandrestaurant ordering system 200 according to the present invention. Thesystem 200 may include one or more service areas 202, such as a frontservice area 202, service area 1-service area N 202, and service areakitchen 202. Going forward, the present inventors note that though thepresent invention is applicable to any type of retail establishment asis described above, a restaurant establishment will be henceforthemployed in order to teach relevant aspects of the present invention.The present inventors further note that though restaurant terms such ashost, wait staff, cook, kitchen, food item, etc. may be employed, suchterms are used to more clearly teach the present invention in a givencontext, however, broader and different retail establishment types arecontemplated.

The service areas 202 may comprise one or more wireless access points201. The service areas 202 may also comprise dual band mobilepoint-of-sale (POS) terminals 221 coupled to the access points 201 viaconventional wireless links 203. The service areas 202 may furthercomprise a gateway 213 to which are coupled one or more fixed POSterminals 211-212, 231 via a wired network 207 and which provide forcoupling of the fixed terminals 211-212, 231 and access points 201 aninternet cloud 260 via conventional wired links. Wired links 205, 207may include, but are not limited to, Ethernet, cable, fiber optic, anddigital subscriber line (DSL). As part of the network path to andthrough the cloud 260, providers of internet connectivity (e.g., ISPs)may employ wireless technologies from tower to tower, etc., but forpurposes of this application, such links 205, 207 will be referred to asconventional wired links 205 to distinguish them from conventionalwireless links 203, as discussed above, along with cellular links 209(e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE). The POS terminals 211-212, 221, 231 may beconfigured differently to comport with intended function (i.e., hostseating, order and payment entry, order processing and fulfillment,etc.), or they may be configured similarly. In one embodiment, themobile terminals 221 may comprise a touch screen display and integralpayment processor (e.g., card/chip/tap reader) that provides for bothorder entry, display of order status, and payment processing. As such,the host terminal 211, fixed POS terminals 212, and order processingterminals 231 may comprise larger touch screens to allow for easierviewing by restaurant staff, or they may comprise displays with keyboardentry. In one embodiment, terminals 211-212, 231 may comprise desktopcomputers, laptop computers, smartphones, or tablets that are runningapplication programs or web-enabled application programs that providefor communication with a backend server 270 for purposes of order entry,status updates, payment processing, and wireless communications channelassignment.

The backend server 270 is coupled to the internet cloud 260, and anadministrative console 271 that is operably coupled to the backendserver 270 via a conventional wired link 205 and/or a wireless link 203.The backend server 270 is not on-premise. The administrative console 271may be disposed within the restaurant premises and coupled to thebackend server 260 via the links 203, 205, or the console 271 may bedisposed in another location, say, at an operations headquarters formultiple restaurants within a given region. In addition, the system 200may comprise one or more browser-based terminals 281 that are coupled tothe backend server 270 via links 205. In one embodiment, thebrowser-based terminals 281 may comprise desktop computers, laptop,computers, smartphones, or tablets that are running stand-aloneapplications or web-enabled applications that provide for communicationwith the backend server 270 for purposes of order entry, status updates,and optionally, payment processing.

The system 200 may further comprise one or more third-party-basedterminals 241 that are coupled to the backend server 270 via theconventional links 205 though the cloud 260. The third party-basedterminals 241 may comprise desktop computers, laptop, computers,smartphones, or tablets that are running stand-alone third-partyapplications or web-enabled third-party applications that provide forcommunication with the backend server 270 for purposes of order entry,status updates, and optionally, payment processing via a proprietaryapplication programming interface (API) 242. An example of such aterminal 241 may include the well-known GrubHub third-party applicationthat is configured to communicate with the backend server 270 via theAPI 241.

The system 200 may further comprise one or more delivery terminals 251that are coupled to one or more cellular access points 208 viaconventional cellular wireless links 209, and the cellular access points208 are coupled to the backend server 270 via the cloud 260. The mobileterminals 221 and delivery terminals 251 are configured to provideservices for order entry, order fulfillment (i.e., delivery), andpayment processing. In one embodiment, the delivery terminals 251 areidentical to the mobile terminals 221 and are disposed as smartphone ortablets with a detachable payment processor (e.g., card/chip reader). Ina further embodiment, the mobile terminals 221 and delivery terminals251 are disposed as smartphone or tablets with a payment processorintegrated within a single housing, where the payment processorcomprises a module that is coupled to the smartphone/tablet via aconnector. In yet another embodiment, the mobile terminals 221 anddelivery terminals 251 are disposed as smartphone or tablets with aTVWS/payment processor integrated within a single housing, where theTVWS/payment processor comprises a module that is coupled to thesmartphone/tablet via a connector. Other embodiments are contemplated.

Service areas 202 corresponding to the mobile terminals 221 may have oneor more tables 204 corresponding to one or more orders. For clarity,service area 1 202 depicts two tables 204, one of which corresponds toorder 1 OD1, and the other of which corresponds to order 2 OD2. Themobile terminals 221 within service area 1 202 may processes portions ofboth order 1 OD1 and order 2 OD2.

Service area N 202 depicts two tables 204, both of which correspond toorder A ODA. The mobile terminals 221 within service area N 202 may bothprocess portions order A ODA.

Though disposed within separate service areas (service area 1202-service area N 202), the mobile terminals 221 therein may be furtherconfigured to process portions of any and all orders within therestaurant and may roam from service area 202 to service area to supportwork load of the restaurant.

The order processing terminals 231 may process all orders in therestaurant, or they may be configured to each process a portion of allof the orders in the restaurant according to preparation station orinventory station.

The host terminal 211 and fixed terminals 212 may be configured toprocess all orders in the restaurant to provide for on-premise seatingassignment, order initiation, order selection, and payment processing,including closeout of orders.

One or more patrons or staff members within service area 1 202-servicearea N 202 may have a personal device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, laptop)206 that can provide an ad hoc network (i.e., hotspot) to which one ormore of the mobile terminals 221 may tether for purposes ofcommunicating with the backend server 270 in the absence of Wi-Ficonnectivity to the access points 201.

As one skilled in the art will appreciate, several years ago the FederalCommunications Commission (FCC) abandoned use of older analog television(TV) channels corresponding to analog channels 2-69 operating atfrequencies of 54-72 MHz, 76-88 MHz, 174-216 MHz, 470-680 MHz, and614-806 MHz, and that in 2009 these frequencies were opened up forconsumer use. These specific channels are commonly referred to astelevision whitespace (TVWS) or White-Fi channels. As one skilled willalso appreciate, these frequency channels previously allowed for analogTV transmission paths upwards to 100 miles using very high powerbroadcast transmitters (e.g., 10,000 Watts). As one skilled will furtherappreciate, these channels are being employed to provide for internetinfrastructure in many undeveloped parts of the world. One skilled willmoreover appreciate that the FCC has provided these frequencies for bothfixed and personal/portable devices to operate in the TV white spaces onan unlicensed basis; however, the devices must include a geolocationcapability and capability to access a database of protected radioservices. The devices provide their location to their database, whichreturns a list of TVWS channels on which they may operate (channel listsare specific to the location of the device). There are numerousdatabases and theses databases are established and administered by thirdparties (e.g., Google, Microsoft, etc.). The devices must register theirlocations in the database and provide identifying information. Devicesare precluded from transmitting without checking the database anddevices must recheck periodically, on the order of every 48 hours.

It is not within the scope of the present application to provide anin-depth discussion of TVWS technology and related implementations. Whatis relevant to the present application is that TVWS frequency channelsexist for public use, provided that the foregoing requirements are metprior to and during use of the channels for communications.

The present inventors have noted that even using a low transmitpower—approximately 40 milliwatts—enables TVWS wireless coverage areaswithin a restaurant to increase in size by a factor of 5 to 10, whilesimultaneously decreasing signal degradation when travelling throughobstructions such as ceilings, doors, and windows.

Accordingly, the present inventors have provided the dual band system200 of FIG. 2 that employs, in one embodiment, TVWS frequencies as afallback communication method for scenarios as described above whereconventional Wi-Fi performance is degraded, poor quality, or evenabsent.

Thus, the dual band system 200 according to the present invention mayemploy dual band mobile terminals 221 that are selectively configurableto exclusively operate using either conventional Wi-Fi 203 via the Wi-Fiaccess points 201 or using White-Fi. In such and embodiment, staff mayconfigure the mobile terminals 221, via a maintenance interface, priorto deployment within the restaurant. That is, the mobile terminals 221may be configured to use conventional Wi-Fi 203 via the Wi-Fi accesspoints 201 in a restaurant that has excellent Wi-Fi coverage.Alternatively, the mobile terminals 221 may be configured to exclusivelyused White-Fi for communications, as will be described in further detailbelow. An exclusive White-Fi restaurant ordering system may beadvantageous in scenarios where Wi-Fi coverage is not required and/orwhere greater coverage areas are required.

The dual band system 200 according to the present invention may employdual band mobile terminals 221 that are dynamically configurable tooperate using conventional Wi-Fi 203 via the Wi-Fi access points 201 orusing White-Fi. When configured as such, in one embodiment, the mobileterminals 221 may operate in a default mode, say Wi-Fi, and switch to afallback mode, say White-Fi, when default mode coverage is insufficient.In such an embodiment, the mobile terminals 221 themselves measurenetwork parameters (e.g. signal strength, number of hops, etc.) and areprogrammed to switch from one operating mode to the next if measurementsexceed programmed thresholds.

In a further embodiment, the dual band mobile terminals 221 areconfigurable to operate using both conventional Wi-Fi 203 and White-Fisimultaneously to allow for greater data throughput and reliability.

All of the previously described embodiments may be configured via themaintenance interface.

In an single White-Fi access point configuration, one of the fixedterminals 211-212, 231 is additionally configured as a White-Fi accesspoint that provides for communications with designated mobile terminals221 within the restaurant over a White-Fi link 281. In a multipleWhite-Fi access point configuration, a plurality of the fixed terminals211-212, 231 are additionally configured as a White-Fi access pointsthat provide for communications with designated mobile terminals 221within the restaurant over plurality of White-Fi links 281. In a meshnetwork embodiment, a plurality of the fixed terminals 211-212, 231 areadditionally configured as a White-Fi access points that provide forcommunications with designated mobile terminals 221 within therestaurant over a plurality of White-Fi links 281, and that additionallyare configured together in a mesh network for purposes of datasynchronization, including those communications designated for thedesignated mobile terminals 221. As such, synchronization between thefixed terminals 211-212, 231 and mobile terminals 221 may employ any ofthe conventional wireless links 203, wired links 207, or cellular links209, as described above, to forward data to its destination in the meshnetwork. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, selection of one ormore of the links 203, 207, 209 for forwarding is determined as afunction of proximity and network throughput.

The system 200 of FIG. 2 shows the host terminal 211, one of the fixedterminals 212, and one of the order processing terminals 231 configuredas White-Fi access points in addition to providing for their intendedfunctions.

In one embodiment, operations are initiated when the one or more patronsenter the restaurant. Generally, a host (not shown) will create an order(along with corresponding order identifier (01D) via the host terminal211 for the one or more patrons and will seat the patrons at one or moretables 204. The created order may include service area designation andassignment of the order to one or more mobile terminals 221. In anotherembodiment, mobile terminals 221 within a service area 202 are assignedto all orders within that service area 202. Other embodiments arecontemplated. The created order and service area assignment aretransmitted over the cloud 260 to the backend server 270, whichmaintains durable terminal queues within which are stored order updatesfor all orders in the restaurant. The backend server 270 additionallymaintains a band assignment mapping, discussed below, that assigns eachof the mobile terminals 221 to communicate via conventional Wi-Fi links203, via White-Fi links 281 (including channel assignment), or bothWi-Fi links 203 and White-Fi links 281 as described above. In oneembodiment, the White-Fi links comport with IEEE 802.11af standards,though other embodiments are contemplated.

Each of the plurality of durable queues correspond to each of the POSterminals 211-212, 221, 231, 251 within the system 200. When connectionstatus to a given terminal 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 is down (i.e., theserver 270 cannot verify communication with the given terminal 211, 212,221, 231, 251), then the server maintains the order updates for thatterminal 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 until connectivity is reestablished, atwhich time the server 270 may transmit one or more of the order updatesto the terminal, verifying with each transmission that the terminal 211,212, 221, 231, 251 received the update. Advantageously, each of theterminals 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 is capable of processing portions ofany of the orders in the restaurant.

Likewise, each of the terminals 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 maintainsdurable order queues within which are stored order updates only for eachof the orders being processed by the terminal 211, 212, 221, 231, 251.Each of the terminals 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 also maintains a pluralityof order states that depict a current state for each of the orders inthe restaurant. As a seated patron selects one or more menu items, waitstaff enters the menu items as an update in one of the terminals 211,212, 221, 231, 251, generally a mobile terminal 221 assigned to thegiven service area 202. The order update is entered into one of thedurable order queues that corresponds to the order ID. If connectivityif present, then the terminal 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 transmits theorder update to the server 270 and waits for the server 270 toacknowledge the order update. If acknowledged, the terminal 211, 212,221, 231, 251 removes the order update from the one of the durable orderqueues. If unacknowledged (i.e., in the case of non-persistent networkconnectivity), the terminal 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 maintains the orderupdate in the one of the durable order queues until such time asconnectivity is reestablished, and the terminal 211, 212, 221, 231, 251completes transmission of the order update with acknowledgement by theserver 270.

Upon reception of a particular update from the server 270, the terminals211, 212, 221, 231, 251 may check one of their plurality of order statesthat correspond to the particular update for conflicts, as will bedescribed in further detail below. If a conflict exists, the terminals211, 212, 221, 231, 251 may utilize domain specific rules to resolve theconflict in order to establish a valid order state. Each of theterminals 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 is configured with the same domainspecific rules to provide for consistent resolution of order states.

Preferably, the mobile terminals 221 monitor signal strengths of theWi-Fi access points 201 and may request connection to that access point201 having the highest signal strength. In one embodiment, if Wi-Fisignal strength is insufficient to provide connectivity, a mobileterminal 221 may request attachment to a White-Fi access point 211, 212,231 within the restaurant to restore communications.

As patrons continue to order items corresponding to the order ID, theone or more of the terminals 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 may enter the orderupdates and transmit/durably queue the order updates to the server 270in accordance with connectivity conditions. The server 270 may alsoqueue/transmit order updates for all orders in the restaurant to each ofthe terminals 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 according each terminal'sconnectivity. Order fulfillment, payment, and closeout are likewisehandled as order updates through the server 270 and arequeued/transmitted to all of the terminals 211, 212, 221, 231, 251 inaccordance with the connection status of each terminal 211, 212, 221,231, 251.

Patrons outside of the restaurant are also handled in similar fashionvia the browser-based terminals 281, and third-party terminals 241,though without feedback from the server 270 regarding all orders in therestaurant. When accessed through the browser-based terminals 281 andthird-party terminals 241, the server 270 creates and order ID andassigns it to one of the order processing terminals 231 for fulfillment,while sending status updates on the order ID to all of the terminals211, 212, 221, 231, 251 via the durable terminal queue therein. Theserver 270 may designate a specific delivery terminal 251 for pickup,delivery, and payment based upon geofenced proximity to the restaurant,or based upon workload corresponding to the delivery terminal. Proximityto the restaurant may be determined by a number of different mechanisms,as will be described in further detail below.

The administrative console 271 may maintain a master record of all orderstates and order updates according to all of the terminals 211-212, 221,231, 251 in order to provide for restaurant management, maintenance,analytics, and network traffic analyses. The console 271 mayalternatively be disposed in an expediter's area of the restaurant foruse by expediters in assignment and allocation of patron seating andterminals 211-212, 221, 231, 251.

The durable terminal queues and durable order queues may be disposed asbattery backed random-access memory, electrically-erasable programmableread-only memory, solid state memory, hard disk memory, or a combinationof the above that will provide for maintaining order updates within thequeues across network and power interruptions.

Advantageously, the present invention provides for more efficientperformance of computational resources within the server 270 and the POSterminals 211-212, 221, 231, 251 over that which has heretofore beenprovided because multiple terminals 211-212, 221, 231, 251 may beassigned to process portions of a single order, resulting in more timelyprocessing of the single order In addition, performance is increased asa result of using White-Fi links 281 exclusively or dynamically as afallback in the event of degraded Wi-Fi coverage. Moreover, performanceis enhanced by simultaneously employing both Wi-Fi links 203 andWhite-Fi links 281. Similarly, any of the terminals 211-212, 221, 231,251 in the restaurant may be immediately reassigned to a particularorder to replace a malfunctioning terminal or to increase throughput ofthe server 270. Accordingly, computational resources 211-212, 221, 231,251, 270 within the system 200 are afforded an overall performanceimprovement as a result of the present invention.

Now referring to FIG. 3, a block diagram is presented featuring abackend server 300 according to the present invention. The backendserver 300 may comprise communications circuitry COMMS 302 (e.g.,transceivers, modems, message formatter, etc.) that is coupled to one ormore wired or conventional wireless communications links 301, examplesof which are described above with reference to FIGS. 1-2. The server 300may also comprise a terminal status element 305, a terminal updateelement 306, and a payment processor 304, all of which are coupled toCOMMS 302 via a message bus MSG. The terminal status element 305 iscoupled to the terminal update element 306 via a status bus STS. Theterminal update element 306 may comprise a service area map SA MAP 307and a terminal band assignment map 308. The terminal update element 306is coupled to the payment processor 304 and to an order initiationelement ORDER INIT 303 via a terminal bus TBUS. The terminal updateelement 306 is also coupled to a queue processor 310 via a queue busQBUS. The server 300 may further comprise a TVWS band update element 309that is coupled to the COMMS 302, the terminal status element 305, thepayment processor 304, and the terminal update element 306 via the MSGbus.

The queue processor 310 may include a durable terminal queue 311 thatincludes terminal update records 312, each of which are associated witha corresponding POS terminal (not shown) that is employed within a givenrestaurant. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, N terminal update records 312are shown, each associated with a corresponding one of N POS terminalsfor the given restaurant. In a large restaurant or big box environment,N may be roughly equal to 100 POS terminals, though larger and smallernumbers are contemplated.

Each of the terminal update records 312 may comprise update fields 313,which are employed to queue order updates for transmission to each ofthe corresponding POS terminals as connectivity to the corresponding POSterminals permits. Update fields 313 nearest to OUT are the oldest orderupdates queued for transmission to the corresponding POS terminals.Update fields 313 nearest to IN are youngest (or most recent) orderupdates queued for transmission to the corresponding POS terminals.Fields 313 between the oldest order updates and the youngest orderupdates descend in age from oldest to youngest update according to whenthose updates are received from others of the corresponding POSterminals.

Values of the order update fields 313 may include, but are not limitedto, an order ID along with order details taken by the others of thecorresponding POS terminals. Accordingly, the terminal update record 312for POS terminal 1 TERM1 depicts a plurality of order update fields 313to be transmitted to TERM1 when connectivity is reestablished withTERM1. In decreasing age from oldest to youngest order update, thefields 313 depict updates to order 64 U64, then order 6 U6, then order22 U22, and so on, culminating with an update to order 17 U17. As oneskilled in the art will appreciate, the terminal update record 312 forTERM1 is indicative that TERM1 has been offline (i.e., no connectivity)longer than any of the other POS terminals in the restaurant. Thislength of time may correspond to a mobile POS terminal that is serving aparty on a restaurant porch that has poor Wi-Fi connectivity, or maycorrespond to a delivery POS terminal that is traversing an area withpoor cellular coverage. The terminal update records 312 corresponding toTERM2, TERM 3, and TERMN depict a number of populated order updatefields 313 less than the number of fields for TERM1, which maycorrespond to mobile POS terminals within the restaurant that have onlyslightly intermittent Wi-Fi connectivity. And the terminal update recordfor TERM4 through TERM N−1 contain only empty order update fields 313,thus indicated that these POS terminals are up to date on all orderstate changes within the restaurant. As a Wi-Fi connected terminalexperiences degraded Wi-Fi connectivity, it may request fallback orsupplemental communications using White-Fi over the White-Fi network, asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 2. Assignment of a particularmobile terminal to Wi-Fi only, White-Fi only (including channelassignment), or combined Wi-Fi and White-Fi is maintained within theterminal band assignment map 308.

Operationally, the terminal status element 305 may periodically transmita first message to each of the POS terminals using the communicationmode and channels indicated by the band assignment map 308, and accessedvia bus STS, and update the connectivity status of the POS terminalsbased upon whether they acknowledge the first message or not. In oneembodiment, the first message may comprise a ping message. In oneembodiment, acknowledgment may comprise a simple acknowledge message. Inother embodiments, acknowledgement may comprise additional data such asreceived signal strength indication Wi-Fi/White-Fi RSSI, number of hops,or Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, as will be described infurther detail below.

The terminal status element 305 may provide connectivity status of eachof the POS terminals to the terminal update element 306 via bus STS. Theservice area map 307 is a table that associates each of the POSterminals to one or more service areas within the restaurant. In oneembodiment, the terminal update element 306 may generate order updatemessages from oldest to youngest update for each of the POS terminalsthat are connected. Connectivity is maintained when a POS terminalacknowledges receipt of an order update message over its designatedcommunication channel. Once acknowledged, the terminal update element306 directs the queue processor 310 to delete the oldest order updatefor that POS terminal and shift pending order updates so that the nextoldest order update becomes the oldest order update. In one embodiment,order updates are transmitted to a given POS terminal until its terminalupdate record 312 is empty, or until connectivity is broken.

In one embodiment, all of the POS terminals associated with therestaurant are updated by the terminal update element 306. In analternative embodiment, POS terminals are selectively updated inaccordance with their mapping to the one or more service areas. Forexample, the delivery POS terminals may only require knowledge of ordersthat are to be delivered outside the restaurant, and thus they may bemapped to a “delivery” service area so that order updates thatcorrespond to the delivery service area are transmitted to the deliveryPOS terminals. Similarly, the restaurant or retail establishment may beso large that management dedicates certain POS terminals to designatedservice areas. Accordingly, all of the POS terminals in a given servicearea may be employed to update any order placed within the given servicearea, but they may not be employed to update orders placed outside ofthe given service area.

Messages received from the communications circuit 302 may also requireadditional functions to be performed by the backend server 300. Forexample, when orders are placed by a browser-based or third-party basedterminal, the terminal update element 306 may transmit the order updateto the order initiation element 303 via TBUS. The order initiationelement 303 may then create an order ID for the order update and mayassign the order ID to one or more of the POS terminals within therestaurant. Similarly, when an order update message received over theCOMMS 302 requires processing of transactions outside of the POSterminals' capabilities (e.g., financial transactions with credit cardproviders, loyalty card discounts, etc.), the payment processor 304 maygenerate messages to complete the transactions and the messages aretransmitted via COMMS 302. The payment processor 304 may furthergenerate order updates (e.g., “order paid,” “payment source 1 approved,”“discount amount,” etc.) to be transmitted to the POS terminals and mayprovide these updates to the terminal update element 306 via TBUS. Theterminal update element 306 may then provide those updates to thedurable queue 311 via QBUS, and the updates are transmitted to the POSterminals in due course dependent upon connection status, as isdescribed above.

The present inventor notes that the term “restaurant” is employed toinclude those fixed and mobile POS terminals within the restaurant alongwith corresponding delivery POS terminals associated with therestaurant, such as delivery POS terminals 251 depicted in FIG. 2. Thereare no terminal update records 312 corresponding to browser-based orthird-party-based terminals since orders placed on these devices arecreated and assigned to one of the POS terminals within the restaurantfor fulfillment, preferably order processing terminals, such as theorder processing terminals 231 in FIG. 2.

As discussed above with reference to FIG. 2, devices such as the dualband mobile and fixed terminals according to the present invention mayoperate in the TV white spaces on an unlicensed basis but the fixeddevice must register their locations in the TVWS database, and the TVWSdatabase will provide one or more TVWS channel assignments for eachfixed device based on its location. In addition, location informationand channel assignments must be periodically updated with the TVWSdatabase. To this end, the TVWS band update element 309 may monitormessage traffic on MSG to extract GPS coordinates of all fixed terminalswithin the restaurant that are configured to additionally function as aWhite-Fi access point. The band update element 309 may further generateTVWS band update messages via the COMMS 302 that are directed toregister the fixed terminals, periodically update the terminal'slocation information, and receive TVWS available channels for White-Fi.The update element may assign one of the TVWS available channels to allof the fixed terminals and may update the band assignment map 308 withthe one of the TVWS available channels for all fixed and mobileterminals in the restaurant, regardless of whether they are enabled tocommunicate via White-Fi, thus enabling for fallback to White-Fi in theabsence of Wi-Fi connectivity.

The backend server 300 according to the present invention is configuredto perform the functions and operations as discussed above and maycomprise one or more central processing units (CPUs) coupled to bothtransitory and non-transitory stores via conventional mechanisms. Thenon-transitory stores may include one or more applications programs thatmay be executed to perform the functions and operations discussed above.The one or more application programs may be cached within the transitorystorage for speed of execution at run time. The server 300 may comprisedigital and/or analog logic, circuits, devices, or microcode (i.e.,micro instructions or native instructions), or a combination of logic,circuits, devices, or microcode, or equivalent elements that areemployed to execute the functions and operations according to thepresent invention as noted. The elements employed to accomplish theseoperations and functions within the server 300 may be shared with othercircuits, microcode, etc., that are employed to perform other functionsand/or operations within the server 300. According to the scope of thepresent application, microcode is a term employed to refer to aplurality of micro instructions. A micro instruction (also referred toas a native instruction) is an instruction at the level that a unitexecutes. For example, micro instructions are directly executed by areduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessor. For a complexinstruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor such as an x86-compatiblemicroprocessor, x86 instructions are translated into associated microinstructions, and the associated micro instructions are directlyexecuted by a unit or units within the CISC microprocessor.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a block diagram is presented showing dual bandfixed terminal 400 according to the present invention. The terminal 400may comprise a communications circuit COMMS 402 (e.g., transceivers,modems, message formatter, etc.) that is coupled to one or more wired orconventional wireless communications links 401, examples of which aredescribed above with reference to FIGS. 2-3. The durable POS terminal400 may also comprise a connection monitor 404, an order processor 410,and a payment processor 406, all of which are coupled to COMMS 402 via amessage bus MSG. The terminal 400 may also comprise a link selectelement 405 that is coupled to the connection monitor 404 via bus CS andto the COMMS 402 via bus LNK. The order processor 410 is coupled to theconnection monitor 404 via bus CBUS and to the payment processor 406, anorder initiation element 407, and a GPS receiver 408 via bus SBUS. Theorder processor 410 is coupled to a touchpad display/camera 403 via busDATA and to terminal ID logic 409 via bus TID. The order processor 410is also coupled to a state processor 420 via a queue bus QBUS.

The state processor 420 may include an order update queue 421 thatincludes order update records 422, each of which is associated with thefixed terminal 400. The terminal ID element 409 provides a uniqueidentifier (e.g., a number) for the terminal 400, and which can then beassociated with one or more orders. Contents of the terminal ID element409 are typically entered by staff through the touchpad 403.

Each of the order update records 422 may comprise order state fields423, which are employed to queue order state changes (i.e., orderupdates) for transmission to a backend server (not shown) asconnectivity to the backend server permits. State fields 423 nearest toOUT are the oldest order state changes queued for transmission to thebackend server. State fields 423 nearest to IN are youngest (or mostrecent) order state changes queued for transmission to the backendserver. Fields 423 between the oldest state fields 423 and the youngeststate fields 423 descend in age from oldest to youngest according towhen those state changes are entered by terminal 400.

Values of the order state fields 423 may include, but are not limitedto, an order ID along with order details taken by the terminal 400.Accordingly, an order update record 422 for order 27 O27 depicts aplurality of order state fields 423 to be transmitted to the server whenconnectivity is reestablished. In decreasing age from oldest to youngestorder state change, the fields 423 depict order state changes S1 throughSN. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, the order update record422 O27 depicts that many more state changes have been entered whileconnection status of the POS terminal 400 is down than have been enteredfor orders 62 O62 through order 3 O3. Advantageously, the POS terminal400 according to the present invention may be employed for entry oforder updates even in the presence of network interruptions.

In operation, order state changes result from two sources: the touchpaddisplay/camera circuit 403 and messages received over COMMS 402 from thebackend server. In the first case, wait staff in possession of the fixedterminal 400 may enter order items as requested by patrons, or in thecase of a self-service terminal 400, the patrons may enter the orderitems themselves. The present invention contemplates provisions withinthe fixed terminal 400 to display menu selections and payment options toboth wait staff and patrons. Order items received from the touchpaddisplay/camera circuit 403 are provided to the order processor 410 viabus DATA, which generates the state changes. State changes received fromthe server are provided to the order processor 410 in messages over busMSG. If the fixed terminal 400 is not additionally configured as aWhite-Fi access point, then the TVWS communications circuit 431, antenna432, and GPS receiver 408 are not required, however, conventionalwireless links 401 may be provided in the event of failure of ahardwired link 401. In one embodiment, the fixed terminal 400 maycomprise a touchpad display/camera 403 on the order of 15 inches, anexample of which is a 1I-Series 2.0 for Android 15″ AiO Touchscreen asproduced by Elo Touch Solutions, Inc. A POS terminal 400 functioning asa fixed terminal 400 for use by wait staff may be configured similar tothe kiosk, but may exhibit a larger touchpad display/camera circuit 403,an example of which is a 1 I-Series 2.0 for Android 22″ AiO Touchscreenas produced by Elo Touch Solutions, Inc. A fixed terminal 400additionally functioning as a TVWS access point must include a wiredlink 401, the GPS receiver 408, and the TVWS communications circuit 431,and TVWS antenna 432. Order items received from the touchpaddisplay/camera circuit 403 are provided to the order processor 410 viabus DATA, which generates the state changes. State changes received fromthe backend server are provided to the order processor 410 in messagesover bus MSG.

The order processor 410 may maintain a current state of all orders beingfulfilled by the restaurant. The current state of each of the orders arestored in order current state fields 412 therein. The order processor410 may further include a TVWS routing table 433. The routing table 433provides a designated TVWS channel for White-Fi communications, which isreceived from the backend server. The routing table 433 may furtherinclude a list of mobile terminals that are assigned to the fixedterminal for White-Fi communications. The routing table 433 may alsoinclude a routing table for all fixed terminals within a mesh networkconfiguration that are additionally configured as White-Fi access pointsfor purposes of forwarding message traffic.

The connection monitor 404 may monitor reception of a first message(e.g., a ping message) from the backend server and direct transmissionof an acknowledgement message. The connection monitor 404 may update theconnectivity status of the fixed terminal 400 accordingly. In oneembodiment, acknowledgment may comprise a simple acknowledge message. Inother embodiments, acknowledgement may comprise additional data such asreceived signal strength indication RSSI associated with one or moreaccess points, number of hops between the backend server and the POSterminal 400, and Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, as willbe described in further detail below.

The link select element 405 may be employed to direct the COMMS 402 tochange links 401 over which to communicate with the backend server, suchas switching from Wi-Fi to LTE, for example, when the fixed terminal 400is not additionally configured to function as a White-Fi access point.In one embodiment, in the absence of connectivity within the restaurant,the link select element 405 may direct the COMMS 402 to tether to acellular equipped device corresponding to an order ID, such as devices206 in FIG. 2, in order to transmit acknowledgements and order statechanges to the backend server. When configured to additionally functionas a White-Fi access point, the link select element 405 may direct theterminal 400 to employ wired links 401 only for communication with thebackend server. When White-Fi is employed as a fallback, the link selectelement 405 may direct that communication with mobile terminalsdesignated for the fixed terminal occur using White-Fi at a channelassignment that is stored in the TVWS routing table 433.

As noted above, the fixed terminal 400 may also include the TVWScommunication element 431 that is coupled to the analog TV band antenna432 and that is coupled to both the MSG bus and the LNK bus. Whenadditionally configured as a White-Fi access point, the TVWScommunication element 431 may access messages received from the backendserver and forward these messages to designated mobile terminals usingthe specific TVWS channels stored in the TVWS routing table 433. TheTVWS communication element 431 may further receive messages from thedesignated mobile terminals over the channels stored in the TVWS routingtable 433 and forward these messages to the backend server. In a meshconfiguration, order processor 410 may direct the COMMS 402 to forwardall message traffic to a next fixed terminal as indicated by the TVWSrouting table 433.

The connection monitor 404 may provide connectivity status of the POSterminal 400 to the order processor 410 via bus CBUS. In one embodiment,the order processor 410 may generate order state change messages fromoldest to youngest update for each of the orders in the queue 421.Connectivity is maintained when the POS terminal 400 receivesacknowledgement of a previously transmitted order state change messagefrom the server. Once acknowledged, the order processor 410 directs thestate processor 420 to delete the oldest state change update for acorresponding order ID and shift pending updates so that the next oldeststate change update becomes the oldest order update. In one embodiment,state change updates are transmitted to the server until its order statechange record 422 is empty, or until connectivity is lost.

Messages received from the communications circuit 402 may also requireadditional functions to be performed by the fixed terminal 400. Forexample, when orders are placed by a browser-based or third-party basedterminal, the backend server may transmit the order state change to theterminal 400 and the order processor 410 may direct the state processor420 to create a corresponding order status record 422 in the queue 421.Similarly, when processing of transactions outside of the terminal'scapabilities (e.g., financial transactions with credit card providers,loyalty card discounts, etc.) are required, the order processor 410 maydirect the payment processor 406 to generate messages to the backendserver to provide data (e.g., amounts, payment source type, cardswipe/chip information, etc.) to complete the transactions. Suchmessages are transmitted via COMMS 402 or/and the TVWS COMMS 431,according to mode of operation of the fixed terminal 400. The paymentprocessor 406 may further receive state changes (e.g., “order paid,”“payment source 1 approved,” “discount amount,” etc.) from the serverand may provide these state changes to the order processor 410 via SBUS.The order processor 410 may then provide those updates to the queue 421via OBUS. The terminal 400 may further be employed to create an order.Accordingly, from order entry data received over DATA, the orderprocessor 410 may direct the order initiation element 407 to create anorder ID and may also direct the state processor 420 to create acorresponding order state record 422 in the queue 421.

Advantageously, the present invention provides for improvements inperformance of computational resources within the fixed terminals 400over that which has heretofore been provided because the fixed terminal400 may be employed to process orders in the absence of conventionalWi-Fi network connectivity. In addition, computing performance isincreased because the fixed terminal 400 may be employed to process anyof the other orders within the restaurant since the current states 412of all restaurant orders are resident therein. Moreover, orderprocessing throughput is substantially increased by employing White-Fichannels in the absence of reliable conventional Wi-Fi connectivity. Andthroughput increases yet more when a combined band protocol (Wi-Fi andWhite-Fi) is employed to communicate with selected mobile terminals.

The fixed terminal 400 according to the present invention is configuredto perform the functions and operations as discussed above and maycomprise one or more central processing units (CPUs) coupled to bothtransitory and non-transitory stores via conventional mechanisms. Thenon-transitory stores may include one or more applications programs thatmay be executed to perform the functions and operations discussed above.The one or more application programs may be cached within the transitorystorage for speed of execution at run time. The terminal 400 maycomprise digital and/or analog logic, circuits, devices, or microcode(i.e., micro instructions or native instructions), or a combination oflogic, circuits, devices, or microcode, or equivalent elements that areemployed to execute the functions and operations according to thepresent invention as noted. The elements employed to accomplish theseoperations and functions within the terminal 400 may be shared withother circuits, microcode, etc., that are employed to perform otherfunctions and/or operations within the terminal 400. According to thescope of the present application, microcode is a term employed to referto a plurality of micro instructions. A micro instruction (also referredto as a native instruction) is an instruction at the level that a unitexecutes. For example, micro instructions are directly executed by areduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessor. For a complexinstruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor such as an x86-compatiblemicroprocessor, x86 instructions are translated into associated microinstructions, and the associated micro instructions are directlyexecuted by a unit or units within the CISC microprocessor.

Now referring to FIG. 5, a block diagram is presented illustrating adual band mobile terminal 500 according to the present invention. Themobile terminal 500 may be adaptable for handheld use by staff and maycomprise a communications circuit COMMS 502 (e.g., transceivers, modems,message formatter, etc.) that is coupled to one or more conventionalwireless communications links 501, examples of which are describedabove. The mobile terminal 400 may also comprise a connection monitor504, an order processor 510, and a payment processor 506, all of whichare coupled to COMMS 502 via a message bus MSG. The mobile terminal 500may also comprise a link select element 505 that is coupled to theconnection monitor 504 via bus CS and to the COMMS 502 via bus LNK. Theorder processor 510 is coupled to the connection monitor 504 via busCBUS and to the payment processor 506 and an order initiation element507 via bus SBUS. The order processor 510 is coupled to a touchpaddisplay/camera 503 via bus DATA and to terminal ID logic 509 via busTID. The order processor 510 is also coupled to a state processor 520via a queue bus QBUS.

The state processor 520 may include an order update queue 521 thatincludes order update records 522, each of which is associated with themobile terminal 500. The terminal ID element 509 provides a uniqueidentifier (e.g., a number) for the mobile terminal 500, and which canthen be associated with one or more orders. Contents of the terminal IDelement 509 are typically entered by staff through the touchpad 503.

Each of the order update records 522 may comprise order state fields523, which are employed to queue order state changes (i.e., orderupdates) for transmission to a backend server (not shown) asconnectivity to the backend server permits, whether that connectivity isvia conventional Wi-Fi or White-Fi. State fields 523 nearest to OUT arethe oldest order state changes queued for transmission to the backendserver. State fields 523 nearest to IN are youngest (or most recent)order state changes queued for transmission to the backend server.Fields 523 between the oldest state fields 523 and the youngest statefields 523 descend in age from oldest to youngest according to whenthose state changes are entered by mobile terminal 500.

Values of the order state fields 523 may include, but are not limitedto, an order ID along with order details taken by the terminal 500.Accordingly, an order update record 522 for order 27 O27 depicts aplurality of order state fields 523 to be transmitted to the server whenconnectivity is reestablished. In decreasing age from oldest to youngestorder state change, the fields 523 depict order state changes S1 throughSN. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, the order update record522 O27 depicts that many more state changes have been entered whileconnection status of the mobile terminal 500 is down than have beenentered for orders 62 O62 through order 3 O3. Advantageously, the mobileterminal 500 according to the present invention may be employed forentry of order updates even in the presence of network interruptions.

In operation, order state changes result from two sources: the touchpaddisplay/camera circuit 503 and messages received over COMMS 502 from thebackend server. When White-Fi is enabled, messages from the backendserver (forwarded by a fixed terminal that is additionally configured asa White-Fi access point) are also received from a TVWS module 531, whichwill be described in more detail below. When White-Fi is employed as afallback to Wi-Fi, messages from the backend server are only receivedover the TVWS module 531. In a dual band (Wi-Fi and White-Fi)implementation, messages from the backend server are received over bothCOMMS 502 the TVWS module 531, as will be described in more detail belowwith reference to FIG. 10. Accordingly, wait staff in possession of themobile terminal 500 may enter order items as requested by patrons, or inthe case of a self-service mobile terminal 500, the patrons may enterthe order items themselves. The present invention contemplatesprovisions within the mobile terminal 500 to display menu selections andpayment options to both wait staff and patrons. Order items receivedfrom the touchpad display/camera circuit 503 are provided to the orderprocessor 510 via bus DATA, which generates the state changes. Statechanges received from the backend server are provided to the orderprocessor 510 in messages over bus MSG. If the mobile terminal 500 isnot additionally configured for White-Fi communications, then the TVWScommunications module 531, described in more detail with reference toFIG. 8, is not required, and may be replaced by a module (not shown)that comprises a credit card reader without White-Fi capabilities. Inone embodiment, the mobile terminal 500 may comprise a touchpaddisplay/camera 503 on the order of 7-10 inches, dependent upon menucomplexity, and may comprise the Android operating system. Order itemsreceived from the touchpad display/camera circuit 503 are provided tothe order processor 510 via bus DATA, which generates the state changes.State changes received from the backend server are provided to the orderprocessor 510 in messages over bus MSG.

The order processor 510 may maintain a current state of all orders beingfulfilled by the restaurant. The current state of each of the orders arestored in order current state fields 512 therein. The order processor510 may further include a TVWS channel assignment table 533. The channelassignment table 533 provides a designated TVWS channel for White-Ficommunications, which has been previously received from the backendserver and which may be employed when Wi-Fi coverage is absent.

The connection monitor 504 may monitor reception of a first message(e.g., a ping message) from the backend server (sent via Wi-Fi) anddirect transmission of an acknowledgement message. The connectionmonitor 504 may update the connectivity status of the mobile terminal500 accordingly. In one embodiment, acknowledgment may comprise a simpleacknowledge message. In other embodiments, acknowledgement may compriseadditional data such as received signal strength indication RSSIassociated with one or more access points (both Wi-Fi and White-Fi),number of hops between the backend server and the POS terminal 400, andGlobal Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, as will be described infurther detail below. The connection monitor 504 may further determinethat connectivity over Wi-Fi is degraded to the extent that theconnection monitor may access the TVWS channel assignment table 533 anddirect the link select element 505 to connect to the backend server viaone or more fixed terminals that are additionally configured to functionas TVWS access points. The connection monitor 504 may provide thedesignated TVWS channel to the link select element 505 which, in turn,will direct that subsequent outgoing messages to the backend server beover White-Fi, and the link select element 505 will provide thedesignated TVWS channel to the TVWS module via bus LNK.

The link select element 505 may be employed to direct the COMMS 502 tochange conventional wireless links 501 over which to communicate withthe backend server, such as switching from Wi-Fi to LTE. In oneembodiment, in the absence of connectivity within the restaurant (bothWi-Fi and White-Fi), the link select element 505 may direct the COMMS502 to tether to a cellular equipped device corresponding to an orderID, such as devices 206 in FIG. 2, in order to transmit acknowledgementsand order state changes to the backend server.

The connection monitor 504 may provide connectivity status of the mobileterminal 500 to the order processor 510 via bus CBUS. In one embodiment,the order processor 510 may generate order state change messages fromoldest to youngest update for each of the orders in the queue 521.Connectivity is maintained when the mobile terminal 500 receivesacknowledgement of a previously transmitted order state change messagefrom the backend server. Once acknowledged, the order processor 510directs the state processor 520 to delete the oldest state change updatefor a corresponding order ID and shift pending updates so that the nextoldest state change update becomes the oldest order update. In oneembodiment, state change updates are transmitted to the backend serveruntil its order state change record 522 is empty, or until connectivityis lost.

Messages received from the communications circuit 502 may also requireadditional functions to be performed by the fixed terminal 500. Forexample, when orders are placed by a browser-based or third-party basedterminal, the backend server may transmit the order state change to theterminal 500 and the order processor 510 may direct the state processor520 to create a corresponding order status record 522 in the queue 521.Similarly, when processing of transactions outside of the terminal'scapabilities (e.g., financial transactions with credit card providers,loyalty card discounts, etc.) are required, the order processor 510 maydirect the payment processor 506 to generate messages to the server toprovide data (e.g., amounts, payment source type, card swipe/chipinformation, etc.) to complete the transactions. Such messages aretransmitted via COMMS 502 or/and the TVWS module 531. The paymentprocessor 506 may further receive state changes (e.g., “order paid,”“payment source 1 approved,” “discount amount,” etc.) from the backendserver and may provide these state changes to the order processor 510via SBUS. The order processor 510 may then provide those updates to thequeue 521 via OBUS. The terminal 500 may further be employed to createan order. Accordingly, from order entry data received over DATA, theorder processor 510 may direct the order initiation element 507 tocreate an order ID and may also direct the state processor 520 to createa corresponding order state record 522 in the queue 521.

Advantageously, the present invention provides for improvements inperformance of computational resources within the mobile terminals 500over that which has heretofore been provided because the mobile terminal500 may be employed to process orders in the absence of conventionalWi-Fi network connectivity. In addition, computing performance isincreased because the mobile terminal 500 may be employed to process anyof the other orders within the restaurant since the current states 512of all restaurant orders are resident therein. Moreover, orderprocessing throughput is substantially increased by employing White-Fichannels in the absence of reliable conventional Wi-Fi connectivity. Andthroughput increases yet more when a combined band protocol (Wi-Fi andWhite-Fi) is employed to communicate with fixed terminals additionallyconfigured as White-Fi access points.

The mobile terminal 500 according to the present invention is configuredto perform the functions and operations as discussed above and maycomprise one or more central processing units (CPUs) coupled to bothtransitory and non-transitory stores via conventional mechanisms. Thenon-transitory stores may include one or more applications programs thatmay be executed to perform the functions and operations discussed above.The one or more application programs may be cached within the transitorystorage for speed of execution at run time. The terminal 500 maycomprise digital and/or analog logic, circuits, devices, or microcode(i.e., micro instructions or native instructions), or a combination oflogic, circuits, devices, or microcode, or equivalent elements that areemployed to execute the functions and operations according to thepresent invention as noted. The elements employed to accomplish theseoperations and functions within the terminal 500 may be shared withother circuits, microcode, etc., that are employed to perform otherfunctions and/or operations within the terminal 500. According to thescope of the present application, microcode is a term employed to referto a plurality of micro instructions. A micro instruction (also referredto as a native instruction) is an instruction at the level that a unitexecutes. For example, micro instructions are directly executed by areduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessor. For a complexinstruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor such as an x86-compatiblemicroprocessor, x86 instructions are translated into associated microinstructions, and the associated micro instructions are directlyexecuted by a unit or units within the CISC microprocessor.

Turning now to FIG. 6, a block diagram is presented detailing anexemplary band assignment map 600 for fixed and mobile dual bandterminals, such as may be employed in the backend server of FIG. 3. Theexemplary band assignment map 600 may comprise a plurality of bandassignment records 601, each associated with a corresponding dual bandterminal within the restaurant. Each of the band assignment records 601may comprise a plurality of fields 602. In the records 601 shown in FIG.6, there is a terminal ID field TERMID that identifies a correspondingdual band mobile terminal, a band selection field BAND that, in oneembodiment, designates that communication with the corresponding mobileterminal occur over convention Wi-Fi only, White-Fi only, or both Wi-Fiand White-Fi. The records 601 also have a plurality of TVWS access pointfields TACCPT that may indicate a corresponding plurality of dual bandfixed terminal IDs for employment as TVWS access points. Though threeTACCPT fields 602 are depicted for each record 601, other numbers ofTACCPT fields 602 are contemplated, as is a function of restaurantconfiguration. Finally, the records have a TVWS channel field TVWS CHAN,which the backend server terminal update element stores based upon themost recent query to the TVWS database by the TVWS band update element.

The backend server employs entries 601 in the band assignment map 600 todetermine whether to direct messages for a given mobile terminal overthe COMMS 302 designating a Wi-Fi access point for routing to the mobileterminal, one or more fixed terminals additionally configured as aWhite-Fi access point for routing to the mobile terminal, or both Wi-Fiaccess points and White-Fi access points, when the restaurant orderingsystem is operating in a combined dual band mode for communication withselected mobile terminals. When operating in a combined dual band mode,terminal update logic within the backend server will also divide messagedata to the selected mobile terminals between White-Fi and Wi-Fi tooptimize data throughput utilizing both networks. The terminal updatelogic within the backend server will also combine message data from theselected mobile terminals what is received via the White-Fi and Wi-Finetworks.

Now referring to FIG. 7, a block diagram is presented illustratingdetails of a TVWS routing table 700 according to the present invention,such as may be employed in the fixed terminal of FIG. 4. The routingtable 700 may comprise a plurality of mobile terminal records 701, eachof which is associated with a corresponding dual band mobile terminalwithin the restaurant. The records 701 may comprise a plurality offields 702 that include a terminal ID field TERMID, a communication modeID field COMMID, a TVWS enable field TVWSEN, a TVWS access point fieldTACCPT, and a TVWS channel designation field TVWS CHAN. The TERMID field702 uniquely identifies the corresponding dual band mobile terminal.Contents of COMMID may direct that communications with the designateddual band mobile terminal occur over Wi-Fi only, White-Fi only, orcombined Wi-Fi and White-Fi. Contents of TACCPT field 702 identifies oneor more fixed terminals within the restaurant that may serve as White-Fiaccess points for the corresponding mobile terminal. Contents of TVWSCHAN designate a White-Fi channel for communication with thecorresponding mobile terminal.

In one embodiment, the fixed dual band terminal may access the TVWSrouting table records 701 to determine whether to intercept messagesreceived over the wired link in order to forward them on to a dual bandmobile terminal over White-Fi. For example, if the terminal ID for thefixed terminal matches the TACCPT field contents for any record 701, thefixed terminal may then intercept message from the backend server forthose corresponding mobile terminals (identified by contents of TERMIDfields 702), and may forward those messages to the corresponding mobileterminals over White-Fi on the TVWS channel indicated by contents ofTVWS CHAN. The fixed terminal may also receive messages from thecorresponding mobile terminals over the TVWS channel and may forwardthose messages to the backend server over the wired link.

Now turning to FIG. 8, a block diagram is presented depicting atelevision whitespace (TVWS) communication module 800, such as may beemployed in the dual band mobile terminals of FIGS. 2, 5, and 10. Thecommunication module 800 may comprise a TVWS transceiver 801 that iscoupled to a TVWS antenna 806 and to channel select logic 802. Thecommunication module 800 may further comprise a GPS transceiver 803 thatis coupled to a GPS antenna 807. A message bus MSG interconnects thechannel select logic 802, the GPS transceiver 803 and a credit cardreader 804. A link bus LNK is coupled to the channel select logic 802.Both LNK and MSG are coupled to a connector 805 or connection device. Asnoted above, the mobile terminals may be disposed as smartphone ortablets with a payment processor integrated within a single housing,where the payment processor comprises a module that is coupled to thesmartphone/tablet via a connector. In this case, the module 800 may bereplaced with a payment processor module (not shown) that includes onlya credit card reader, as would be the case for a delivery terminal. Asadditionally noted above, the mobile terminals may be disposed assmartphone or tablets with a TVWS/payment processor 800 integratedwithin a single housing, where the TVWS/payment processor 800 comprisesa module that is coupled to the smartphone/tablet via a connector.Alternatively, the connector 805 may comport with an existing port orconnector protocol that is employed on a smartphone or tablet, such as,but not limited to, a USB connector or a PCie connector. Rather thanbeing integrated into a single housing, the TVWS/payment processor 800may merely be connected via a cable to the smartphone/tablet, thusproviding, say, a legacy mobile terminal with the payment processing andWhite-Fi communications capabilities.

Though not explicitly shown in the block diagram of FIG. 4, theTVWS/payment processor 800, may be employed in place of the TVWS COMMSelement 431 and the TVWS antenna 432, as is describe above in modularembodiments of the mobile terminal. Accordingly, a legacy fixedterminal, having only conventional wired and wireless communicationscapabilities over COMMS 402, and having an existing port or connector,can easily be upgraded via connection of the module 800 to the existingport of connector to additionally provide for payment processing andWhite-Fi communications.

The TVWS communication module 800 is provided according to the presentinvention to allow for a modular adaptation of the mobile terminals ofFIGS. 2 and 5 to provide for White-Fi communications and paymentprocessing, or payment processing only. In operation, credit cardinformation is provided over bus MSG to payment processing logic withinthe mobile terminal when a credit card is swiped, dipped, or tapped. Inaddition, messages to/from a TVWS access point are transmitted/receivedvia the TVWS antenna 806 and transceiver 801 over a TVWS channelprovided via LNK and designated via the channel select logic 802. TheGPS receiver 803 and antenna 807 are optional, and if employed may beused to provide location information of the mobile terminal within whichthe module 800 is disposed. Advantageously, the TVWS communicationsmodule 800 according to the present invention allows for selectiveadaptation of table-based mobile terminals to provide for either paymentprocessing only, or payment processing and White-Fi networkcommunications.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a block diagram 500 is presented illustratingexemplary update/status messages according to the present invention thatflow between a backend server and fixed and mobile terminals.

An order assignment message 910 transmitted by the server to one or moreterminals may comprise fields 901 having a specific terminal ID TERMIDassigned for a particular order ID ORDERID along with a table numberTABLENUM having a given number of seats NUMSEATS. The message 910 mayfurther comprise a SPECIAL field 901 via which special requirements(e.g., high chair, wheel chair access) are communicated to the terminal.

An order state change message 920 transmitted from a fixed or mobileterminal to the server may comprise TERMID and ORDERID fields 901 asdescribed above, along with one or more groups of ITEM, MOD, and SEAT #fields 901, where contents of the ITEM field 901 indicated a menu itemordered for a given seat number at the table along with anymodifications to the item number (e.g., rare, no onions, etc.).

A payment state change message 930 transmitted from a terminal to theserver may comprise TERMID and ORDERID fields along with one or moregroups of PMTREQ, AMT, and TIP fields 901, where contents of the PMTREQfield 901 indicate a payment type (e.g., cash, MasterCard, etc.), andcontents of AMT and TIP fields 901 indicate amount of payment for theparticular payment type along with a tip amount.

An order closeout message 940 may comprise TERMID and ORDER ID fields901 as noted above, along with a CLOSED field 901, the contents of whichindicate whether the particular order ID is open or closed.

A dual band message 990 may be transmitted from the server to a fixedterminal that is additionally configured as a White-Fi access point. Themessage 990 may have a TERMID field, the contents of which identify aspecific mobile terminal. The message 990 may further include a combineband field COMBINE, the contents of which indicate the communicationmode for the specific mobile terminal, namely, Wi-Fi only, White-Fionly, or combined Wi-Fi and White-Fi.

The messages 910, 920, 930, 940, 990 are not exhaustive of those whatmay be employed according to the present disclosure but are providedherein to teach further aspects and advantages according to the presentinvention.

Finally turning to FIG. 10, a block diagram is presented illustrating acombined band mobile terminal 1000 according to the present invention.The combined band mobile terminal 1000 is virtually the same as the dualband mobile terminal 500 of FIG. 5, where elements in the combined bandmobile terminal operate in the same manner as those like-named elementsof the dual band mobile terminal. In addition, the combined band mobileterminal 1000 may comprise message combine logic 1031 in place of theTVWS channel logic 533 of FIG. 5. In addition to performing thefunctions described above to the TVWS channel logic 533, the combinelogic 1031 may further combine message data designated for the terminal1000 that is received over both Wi-Fi and White-Fi channels, and mayfurther split data that is designated for the backend server fortransmission over both Wi-Fi and White-Fi.

Although the above embodiments are presented to clearly teach thepresent invention, other embodiments are contemplated as well. As isdisclosed herein, mobile dual band terminals may comprise conventionalwireless communications links such as Wi-Fi, cellular (e.g., 3G, 4G,LTE), Bluetooth, etc., and are additionally configured for White-Ficommunications. Likewise, fixed terminals according to the presentinvention may comprise wired communication links (e.g., Ethernet) andconventional wireless communications links such as Wi-Fi, cellular(e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE), Bluetooth, etc., and are additionally configuredfor White-Fi communications. One embodiment of the fixed terminal ofFIG. 4 contemplates its use as a White-Fi access point forcommunications with designated mobile terminals. However, anotherembodiment of the present invention comprehends a system of fixedterminals and mobile terminals that couple to one or more stand-aloneWhite-Fi base stations (not shown), where the White-Fi base stationfunctions as White-Fi access points, substantially similar in functionto a conventional Wi-Fi access point.

Portions of the present invention and corresponding detailed descriptionare presented in terms of software, or algorithms and symbolicrepresentations of operations on data bits within a computer memory.These descriptions and representations are the ones by which those ofordinary skill in the art effectively convey the substance of their workto others of ordinary skill in the art. An algorithm, as the term isused here, and as it is used generally, is conceived to be aself-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The stepsare those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form ofoptical, electrical, or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, or as is apparent from the discussion,terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, a microprocessor, a central processingunit, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates andtransforms data represented as physical, electronic quantities withinthe computer system's registers and memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computer system memoriesor registers or other such information storage, transmission or displaydevices.

Note also that the software implemented aspects of the invention aretypically encoded on some form of program storage medium or implementedover some type of transmission medium. The program storage medium may beelectronic (e.g., read only memory, flash read only memory, electricallyprogrammable read only memory), random access memory magnetic (e.g., afloppy disk or a hard drive) or optical (e.g., a compact disk read onlymemory, or “CD ROM”), and may be read only or random access. Similarly,the transmission medium may be metal traces, twisted wire pairs, coaxialcable, optical fiber, or some other suitable transmission medium knownto the art. The storage medium may be non-transitory or transitory. Theinvention is not limited by these aspects of any given implementation.

The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, andthose skilled in the art will appreciate that they can readily use thedisclosed conception and specific embodiments as a basis for designingor modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of thepresent invention, and that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the scope of theinvention as set forth by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dual band mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminal,comprising: a state processor, configured to queue state changes in oneor more order queues that correspond to one or more of a plurality oforders in a restaurant; an order processor, coupled to said stateprocessor, configured to generate said state changes, and configured toaccess and transmit said state changes in each one of said one or moreorder queues to a backend server, from oldest to youngest, when operablyconnected to a network, wherein said order processor comprises currentorder state fields corresponding to all of said plurality of orders insaid restaurant; communications elements, enabling the mobile POSterminal to communicate over both a Wi-Fi network and a White-Fi networkwithin said restaurant, and when operating in a Wi-Fi mode, the mobilePOS terminal communicates only over said Wi-Fi network as a selectedwireless network, and when operating in a White-Fi mode, said mobile POSterminal communicates only over said White-Fi network as said selectedwireless network via a plurality of fixed POS terminals that areadditionally configured as White-Fi access points in a mesh networkconfiguration, wherein said plurality of fixed terminals forwardsmessages from said backend server the mobile POS terminal over saidWhite-Fi network; and a connection monitor, coupled to saidcommunications elements, configured to determine that connectivity oversaid Wi-Fi network is degraded, and configured to direct saidcommunications elements to operate in said White-Fi mode.
 2. The mobilePOS terminal as recited in claim 1, wherein said network comprises theinternet and said selected wireless network.
 3. The mobile POS terminalas recited in claim 2, wherein said backend server comprises acloud-based server.
 4. The mobile POS terminal as recited in claim 3,wherein the mobile POS terminal and other POS terminals are configuredto generate unique ones of said state changes corresponding to a sameone of said one or more of said plurality of orders.
 5. The mobile POSterminal as recited in claim 4, wherein, when programmed to operate insaid Wi-Fi mode, said mobile POS terminal operably connects to saidnetwork via one or more Wi-Fi access points that are disposed withinsaid restaurant.
 6. The mobile POS terminal as recited in claim 4,wherein said plurality of fixed terminals are coupled to an internetgateway for communications with said backend server via a wired networkwithin said restaurant.
 7. The mobile POS terminal as recited in claim6, wherein said order processor comprises: a television whitespace(TVWS) channel assignment table, that provides a designated TVWSchannel, previously received from said backend server, which is employedby said communications elements for communications over said White-Finetwork.
 8. A dual band mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminal, comprising:a state processor, configured to queue state changes in one or moreorder queues that correspond to one or more of a plurality of orders ina restaurant; a touchpad display/camera circuit, configured to inputmenu selections and/or payment options; an order processor, coupled tosaid state processor, configured to generate said state changes, andconfigured to access and transmit said state changes in each one of saidone or more order queues to a backend server, from oldest to youngest,when operably connected to a network, wherein said order processorcomprises current order state fields corresponding to all of saidplurality of orders in said restaurant; communications elements,enabling the mobile POS terminal to communicate over both a Wi-Finetwork and a White-Fi network within said restaurant, and whenoperating in a Wi-Fi mode, the mobile POS terminal communicates onlyover said Wi-Fi network as a selected wireless network, and whenoperating in a White-Fi mode, said mobile POS terminal communicates onlyover said White-Fi network as said selected wireless network via aplurality of fixed POS terminals that are additionally configured asWhite-Fi access points in a mesh network configuration, wherein saidplurality of fixed terminals forwards messages from said backend serverthe mobile POS terminal over said White-Fi network; and a connectionmonitor, coupled to said communications elements, configured todetermine that connectivity over said Wi-Fi network is degraded, andconfigured to direct aid communications elements to operate in saidWhite-Fi mode.
 9. The mobile POS terminal as recited in claim 8, whereinsaid network comprises the internet and said selected wireless network.10. The mobile POS terminal as recited in claim 9, wherein said backendserver comprises a cloud-based server.
 11. The mobile POS terminal asrecited in claim 10, wherein the mobile POS terminal and other POSterminals are configured to generate unique ones of said state changescorresponding to a same one of said one or more of said plurality oforders.
 12. The mobile POS terminal as recited in claim 11, wherein,when programmed to operate in said Wi-Fi mode, said mobile terminaloperably connects to said network via one or more Wi-Fi access pointsthat are disposed within said restaurant.
 13. The mobile POS terminal asrecited in claim 11, wherein said plurality of fixed terminals arecoupled to an internet gateway for communications with said backendserver via a wired network within said restaurant.
 14. The mobile POSterminal as recited in claim 13, wherein said order processor comprises:a television whitespace (TVWS) channel assignment table, that provides adesignated TVWS channel, previously received from said backend server,which is employed by said communications elements for communicationsover said White-Fi network.
 15. An order fulfillment method using a dualband mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminal, the method comprising: queuingstate changes in one or more order queues that correspond to one or moreof a plurality of orders in a restaurant; generating the state changes,and accessing and transmitting the state changes in each one of the oneor more order queues to a backend server, from oldest to youngest, whenoperably connected to a network and maintaining current order statefields corresponding to all of the plurality of orders in therestaurant; employing communications elements that enable the mobile POSterminal to communicate over both a Wi-Fi network and a White-Fi networkwithin the restaurant, and when programmed in a Wi-Fi mode, the mobilePOS terminal communicates only over the Wi-Fi network as a selectedwireless network, and when programmed in a White-Fi mode, the mobile POSterminal communicates only over the White-Fi network as the selectedwireless network via a plurality of fixed POS terminals that areadditionally configured as White-Fi access points in a mesh networkconfiguration, wherein the plurality of fixed terminals forwardsmessages from the backend server the mobile POS terminal over theWhite-Fi network; and determining that connectivity over the Wi-Finetwork is degraded, and directing the communications elements tooperate in the White-Fi mode.
 16. The method as recited in claim 15,wherein the network comprises the internet and the selected wirelessnetwork.
 17. The method as recited in claim 16 wherein the backendserver comprises a cloud-based server.
 18. The method as recited inclaim 17, wherein the mobile POS terminal and other POS terminalsgenerate unique ones of the state changes corresponding to a same one ofthe one or more of the plurality of orders.
 19. The method as recited inclaim 18, wherein, when programmed to operate in the Wi-Fi mode, themobile POS terminal operably connects to the network via one or moreWi-Fi access points that are disposed within the restaurant.
 20. Themethod as recited in claim 18, wherein the plurality of fixed terminalsis coupled to an internet gateway for communications with the backendserver via a wired network within the restaurant.